Has anyone ever used a career coach?

November 14, 2006 9:32 AM

Has anyone ever used a career coach? Did you get the results you wanted?

I'm having some issues at work that I think could be helped by hiring a career coach. I am, however, a bit off by the cost: $500 a month for one, $2995 for 4 months for another. (That's, like, a lot of money and stuff) Both seem competent, but I want to get a better idea of how coaching has helped tranform other peoples' work lives. Also, I didn't see any previous threads, but if there are some, please point them out, thanks.

posted by GuyZero to Work & Money (8 answers total)

I've thought about getting a career counselor, but it sounds less like you're interested in changing your path rather than becoming better at what you're already doing.
posted by rhizome at 10:27 AM on November 14, 2006

I went to a career counsellor once and wasn't real impressed. My experience was you take a battery of psychological tests (MMPI, for instance) as well as whatever career-oriented tests they provide, intended to determine your aptitudes, orientations and skills.
The result was a final half-hour meeting where the counsellor goes over the numbers and then proclaims what sort of career direction you are most oriented toward. And that's it. No realy help in distilling the "direction" down to actual, definable jobs that really exist. In my case, it was "something that combines the sciences with design or the arts". Nothing more specific...like a short list of what sorts of jobs fit that "direction"...or what fields feature that combination.
I found it close to a complete waste of money.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:44 AM on November 14, 2006

This does not directly answer your question, but you might think about looking into a psychologist/psychotherapist who specializes in these sorts of things. Starting rates are probably around $100/hour; so if you go once a week you're still saving money. An ongoing relationship with someone trained to uncover your secrets and point out things about yourself that you didn't notice, can be more of a career counsellor than a 'coach.' Since 'therapy' is becoming less stigmatized these days, more therapists are helping on particular goals: finding a new career, grieving a death, giving up drugs...whatever - and then the therapy is done when you have achieved your goal.

Something to think about.
(Those are just random links I googled; I don't know anything about, or particularly recommend or discourage any of them.)
posted by iurodivii at 12:05 PM on November 14, 2006

Response by poster: Yeah, thanks for the input all. I have worked with a therapist before and it was useful, but it's not exactly what I'm looking for. And I've done psychmetric tests and while they're interesting, I agree that they're not really very useful. And I know what I want to do, that's not the issue.

I think the idea behind the coaches I'm looking at is that if we make the analogy that buisnesspeople are like high-performance athletes in their field, you'd never see an athlete competeing in world-class events without a coach. While its a fine analogy, I'm not exactly sure if I'm Carl Lewis here and if I work at the Olympics. And I don't have money to lavish on making myself feel important without getting something concrete out of it.
posted by GuyZero at 1:36 PM on November 14, 2006

I started seeing a coach in May - was feeling stuck in my job and very out of sorts WRT work/life balance. My nice boss paid for my coaching as "professional development" (it's cheaper than an out-of-town conference!) even though he knew I might end up deciding to leave my job as a result.

My coach uses a 16-week "course" through the Institute for Inegrative Coaching. The program isn't nearly as windchimey as the website might lead you to believe. It has a structure where each session builds on the one before. Parts of it are similar to cognitive therapy, I think (although I know about CBT only in theory, not practice): it has been very forward-centered, behavior-oriented and self-affirming. In my case, we are dealing with career issues, but the program can work with various parts of the life "wheel" (relationships, family, health, etc.).

It has been great for me. I like my coach a lot. It's nice to talk through issues with someone who doesn't have alterior motives in giving advice (I'm looking at you, Mom). She is 100% supportive but also pushes back when I try to rationalize my way out of discussions or decisions.

I feel like I've come a long way in six months. Could I have done it without my coach? Probably. But would I? Probably not.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 2:38 PM on November 14, 2006

I've used a career coach, and the results were... meh.

The one I used had a sort of standard package where you do some psycological/personality tests, and lot of homework to identify what you like to do, and what you're good at doing. These eventually turn into "key success factors" which you then use to sell yourself in a job interview or to potential clients. You learn how to talk about yourself in a natural way, so that it doesn't sound arrogant. e.g. Instead of "I'm a problem-solver." you say, "I'm an experienced problem-solver, let me give you an example..." Simple tips like that.

Coaches can help with some basic strategy, practical tips (cover letters, etc.) and provide you with some structure for a job-search or career change, but don't expect any revelations. They aren't going to have any amazing insights into jobs you didn't know about. And they certainly won't be able to tell you more about your own industry. You can get 95% of what they have to offer from a book like "What Color is your Parachute?"

If you think you still want to try one out - i would be cautious of anyone who offers a package - and not an hourly rate. Once you pay, you may stop getting any useful info from them. (Or emails, voicemails are followed up with a bunch of cut-and-pasted psuedo-personalized text.) An hourly rate keeps them working so that you see the value of their services. Also, try to get a reference from a previous client to see what their experiences were. Any joker can call themselves a career coach.

Also, about therapy I agree with the above posters. I've found that I've gotten more insight into work and life issues through talking with a good therapist than I ever did from my career coach experience. And at approx $100 an hour, it is a much better value.
posted by kamelhoecker at 2:47 PM on November 14, 2006

The career coaches I've met seem to understand HR and organizational behaviour, but are lacking in their understanding of business. I found more success in choosing mentors who wanted to help me along in my career. Iurodivii and Kamelhoecker also have good points about psychologists.
posted by acoutu at 3:22 PM on November 14, 2006

I've had a similar experience to "Sweetie Darling", with some of the same thoughts as kamelhoecker...

My boss arranged career coaching, which turned out to be more work-life balance coaching, self-introspection and understanding what's important to me (i.e. actually listing and understanding the guiding factors).
From there, we looked at what different things at work influence (or are influenced by) my guiding factors.

I used this to critically appraise a new internal vacancy that arose, and went through my list ticking off things as I went. I worked out that it looked like it would fit me better than my current role, so I went for it. It was a deliberate considered decision, rather than a spur of the moment, or a "from the heart" decision - I've been doing it for the last 6 months, and although it's all still new and bewildering, I don't regret the move.

To reiterate: Could I have done it without my coach? Probably. But would I? Probably not.
posted by Chunder at 6:34 AM on November 15, 2006